


A Soul For A Soul

by romanovanoff



Series: Depresso Expresso For One [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Natasha and Steve have two kids, Natasha stuck in Vormir, Original Character(s), Sacrifice, Soul Stone (Marvel), Time Travel, romanogers - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-05
Updated: 2020-01-05
Packaged: 2021-02-27 11:47:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,877
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22136542
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/romanovanoff/pseuds/romanovanoff
Summary: Natasha is trapped in the soul world after sacrificing herself to get the soul stone. Weeks after mourning her death Steve comes to Vormir to return the soul stone and well. The title.Very MINOR depresso expresso.
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Natasha Romanov
Series: Depresso Expresso For One [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1593307
Comments: 1
Kudos: 36





	A Soul For A Soul

There seemed to be some kind of bubble Natasha was entering. The fall was softer than she thought it was supposed to be. She’s had harder falls. She expected a hard impact and a quick death. But... she didn’t get any of that. 

The redhead stood there at the bottom, her body parts intact and not a single drop of blood spilled. Taking in a sharp breath she looked up and spotted a figure at the edge of the cliff. _Clint_. Even down here she could somehow see the heartbroken expression on his face, just barely seeing the tears rolling down his cheeks. “Clint!” She called out, her voice echoing.... but he couldn’t hear her. It was loud enough she thought. Surely he could’ve heard her. Or _seen_ her. 

Up in the cliffs, an archer stared down at his broken best friend, laying there dead with her skull cracked open from behind, blood pooling beside her head. He stared down at her broken body, laying there unmoving. “Nat...” He croaked out. He closed his eyes for just a second, not wanting to see anymore, and when he opened them up again he was gone.

Just a blink was all it took for him to disappear from Natasha’s view. “Clint??! CLINT!” She shouted. Once again no response besides the echoes she produced. Confused she looked around. Nothing but miles and miles of nothing. 

“You’re stuck here,” A voice told her. A shadowed figure came closer, a woman with skin of green and strange markings. “Don’t try running cause you will end up back where you started eventually. This world is never-ending but also not...” She said in a confused tone, unsure of how to describe this place. 

Natasha took just one step back before raising her chin, her hand coming to the gun that surprisingly was still on her person. “Who are you?” It was a pointless thing to ask as she already guessed who she was. The woman Rocket explained before, back at the compound.

“Gamora,” The woman spoke, confirming the redhead's thoughts.

“Thanos’s daughter,” Natasha responded. Gamora didn’t even try to protest with an anger-filled outburst as she usually would when being referred that way. She just simply nodded. “He sacrificed you...” The redhead whispered, shaking her head. “We’re gonna get out of here-“

“We can’t-“

“They’re going to find a way... for right now we wait. But they will find a way to get us out,” Natasha said with complete confidence. Because surely Clint must’ve seen her alive down here... surely… 

If only she knew only one would be able to return.

Taking one last look around she glanced at the green-skinned woman before taking a seat on the ground, starting her wait. She had to get back to her family. Having nothing else better to do Gamora did the same and sat down right beside her.

* * *

“She… she… sacrificed herself. It should’ve been me,” Clint choked out, staring brokenly at the ground as everyone listened to him. They all stood around, dressed in their new suits and their smiles of victory slowly slipping from their faces as they realized one person was missing.

“What are you talking about,” Steve said confused, tilting his head. “What happened….” The more Clint explained the more Steve couldn’t believe it. Natasha… _sacrificed herself_ … to get the stone. To save the world. And left behind her _family_. “No…” He croaked. Before he eventually would break down he left the room quickly, a couple of tears slipping out and down his cheeks. Her last words to him rang in his ears over and over again as he walked down the halls. _See you in a minute._

It’s only been 5 minutes in real-time so James should still be taking his nap. As Steve made his way towards his and Natasha’s shared quarters he made his way towards the room on the left, the door just a little opened. Opening it he slowly stepped inside, seeing the small 5-year-old boy still sleeping peacefully. He had blonde hair like his father and bright green eyes like his mother. Eyes he didn’t want to stare into when he told him his mother wasn’t going to be coming back.

Not wanting to disturb his sleep Steve slowly started to make his way out of the room. The door creaked and he winced when he heard James whine a bit. “Papa…?” The boy asked confused as he rubbed his eyes. Steve sighed but offered a shaky smile, stepping back inside and nearing the bed. “Hey, buddy….” He said back as he sat down on the edge of the small bed. “Where’s mama…?”

This was the part Steve was dreading. At this moment he couldn’t help but dislike how observant his kid was. Either way, he offered another smile. “Mama went on a trip… and she’s going to stay for a while… to help people,” He lied, not wanting to tell his son that she died without crying himself. “Like mission?” The boy asked. Steve nodded. “Yeah... like a mission. She’s helping so many people you couldn’t believe.” James nodded and accepted this answer, curling into his father's side before falling back asleep. Steve held him close and tilted his head back, trying to blink away the tears but it was no use, they just kept falling.

He saw a shadow appear in the doorway and he looked ahead again, seeing his daughter. Well not by blood but he’s come to know her over the years and eventually treated her as his own. “Alina…” He whispered. The redhead shook her head and backed out of the room, refusing to believe that his words were the truth. She knew her mother was dead. Her mother was dead after she promised she’d be back. These were her thoughts as she ran, running to her and her mama’s special hiding place. Steve sighed and closed his eyes. 

* * *

The fight was won. The children were safe and everyone was in a state of grieving. For their beloved redhead and their resident genius. The team had gone to Russia to give Natasha the funeral she would’ve wanted and the kids were sent to spend some time with Laura and her children. Safety reasons. If word caught that the Black Widows kids were in Russia then there would be problems and it’s best to avoid that.

2 weeks later and it was decided to let Steve return all the stones, everyone else wary about traveling like that again. 

It was cold in Volmir, so much so that for the first time in a long time Steve felt that he should’ve worn a second layer of clothes for the trek up the mountain. The higher he went the more his comfort grew thinner and thinner but in the end, he continued. 

The goal was to return the soul stone, that was all. He had no illusion that he could somehow bring back his one and only and he made sure to keep those thoughts out of mind as he neared the edge. Looking over he saw her. Saw her the same way Clint had seen her when she fell, still in the same position. His eyes clouded with sudden tears. “Nat…” He choked out. 

Natasha looked up when she heard something, a small voice whispering her name. “Is that… Steve?” She asked confused, staring up at the small figure that looked down over the edge. “STEVE!” She cried, her heart pounding with excitement and tears rushing to her eyes, ready to be released. She waved and screamed but she got no response from the man above, just the same look of heartbreak she’s seen on Clint. 

“He can’t hear me,” Nat stated quietly, wiping her cheeks free from tears.

“Or see you I’m afraid,” Gamora finished.

Suddenly Steve tossed something over the cliff, something that glowed a sunset yellow. It broke through the bubble and Natasha innocently went to reach it just as she was suddenly shoved to the ground, the glowing stone falling a few feet away. “What are you doing?!” She cried, kicking Gamora away as she tried to crawl towards the stone.

“I’ve been here far too long,” Hissed the green woman, sprinting past Natasha. “I’m leaving!” Growling, Natasha reached out and grabbed her leg, tugging back and letting the woman fall face first. Jumping to her feet she ran past and attempted to grab the stone but once again she was tackled to the ground. Both women got back up to their feet and glared each other down, the stone in between the two. “I have two children, I have to get back to!” Natasha cried, pointing to herself. “I have a family!!” 

That seemed to take the other woman off guard and that small moment of hesitation was all the redhead needed before she lunged for the stone, gripping it her hand. The stone's power traveled through her, making her skin glow brightly and her eyes go white. A soul for a soul. Gamora screamed NO and attempted to hit Natasha but the power was too strong and she was thrown back. In a split second, Natasha was then gone. 

* * *

  
Steve sniffed as he watched the stone disappear, not noticing her body disappear too as he turned away, starting his walk back down the mountain. Finding a good spot he put the right coordinates and time location into a device built into his suit and muttered a small goodbye. With a flash of light, he was traveling back to his own time, back to the compound.

Bruce, Bucky, and Sam were there waiting for him like promised. It’s only been a short 10 seconds so they haven’t been waiting long. “I saw her,” Was the first thing Steve said when he appeared on the platform. “I know why Clint didn’t want to say anything,” He said in a broken voice. “Just… laying there at the bottom of the cliff.” 

“Bet she’s still in a better place Steve. She did what she did to help bring us back,” Sam spoke up. He looked like he was about to say something else but an echoing scream interrupted him. Steve jumped back from the platform as it started shaking, an orange-colored energy breaking through the thing as the scream got louder. “Bruce?!” Steve called out in concern. Did he do something wrong?! Did it not work?? “What’s happening??”

“I-I don’t know,” Bruce said as he struggled to get a fix on the machine, not knowing what the hell was causing this to happen. He didn’t get a chance to figure it out before a bright shining light erupted on the platform, so strong all of them had to cover their eyes or turn around. When the light disappeared so did the scream, a harsh quietness all that was left. It took a good few seconds before the fog finally faded away. A woman on her knees was on the platform, breathing heavy and bright red curls blocking out her face from everyone's view. They couldn’t believe their eyes. Was that? “Nat…?” Steve asked quietly. 

She slowly turned her head to the side, curls parting so she could look at her friends. “That was longer than a minute, huh,” She chuckled breathlessly.

**Author's Note:**

> just a mention that Alina is actually an original character my best friend created, Natasha's daughter, and ive taken to adding her into some of my stories.


End file.
